Aster DM Healthcare Limited (ASTERDM) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Dear shareholders, good morning, and a very warm welcome to the 15th Annual General Meeting of Aster DM Healthcare Limited through videoconferencing or other audiovisual facility. [Operator Instructions] Please note that the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting will be recorded and available on the website of the company. I now hand over the proceedings to Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare Limited. Over to you, sir.

Thank you. Dear shareholders, good morning to you all. It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you all to the 15th Annual General [ Body ] Meeting of your company. Hope all of you are safe and in good health. This AGM is being held through video conferencing in accordance with the circular issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and SEBI. Please note that as per the requirements, the proceedings of the Annual General Body Meeting will be recorded and available on the website of the company. A live streaming of this meeting is also being webcast on the website of NSEI. We have the requisite quorum present through video conferencing to conduct the proceedings of this meeting. Participation of the members through video conferencing is being recorded for the purpose of quorum as per circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Section 103 of the Companies Act 2013. The quorum being present, I call this meeting to order. I would now like to introduce your board members who have joined this meeting. First, Ms. Alisha Moopen, Deputy Managing Director of the company, who is also the Chairperson of the Risk Management Committee, is attending this AGM from Dubai; Mr. T.J. Wilson, Director of the company, is attending this AGM from Dubai; Mr. Shamsudheen, Director of the company, is attending this AGM from Dubai; Dr. CA James Matthew, Independent Director of the company and the Chairperson of the Audit Committee and Stakeholder Relationship Committees attending this AGM from Dubai; Mr. Emmanuel David, Independent Director of the company and Chairperson of the Nomination Remuneration Committee is attending this AGM from Mumbai; Ms. PH Vijaya Deepti, Independent Director of the company, is attending this AGM from Bangalore. We also have Dr. Nitish Shetty, CEO of Aster India; Mr. Amitabh Johri, Joint CFO; Mr. Sunil Kumar, joint CFO; Mr. Hitesh Dhadha, Chief of Investor Relations and M&A; and Mr. Hemish Purushottam, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, joining from their respective location. I would like to acknowledge the participation of the authorized representatives of our statutory auditors, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and the secretarial auditors, [ Messrs. ] Damodaran & Associates LLP, Company Secretaries. Due to preoccupation, Mr. C.J. George, Mr. Daniel Mintz and Mr. Wayne Keathley cannot attend this meeting and have conveyed their regards. I now request the moderator to play a short corporate video of the journey of Aster DM Healthcare, after which I shall continue my speech. [Presentation]

Over to you, Chairman, sir.

Thank you. Please give me one second. Yes. Dear shareholders, it is my immense pleasure to address you today as we emerge from the shadows of the global pandemic that put our resilience in the health care sector to severe test. Before going into performance of your company during the financial year, let me share with you a perspective of the evolving landscape of health care in our regions. An urgent need to bridge the gap. In order to bridging the gap in health care for India, we must undertake several crucial measures. Firstly, it is important to bolster our capacity, proactively anticipating future challenges by investing in health care infrastructure. Secondly, augmenting health care spending will enable us to effectively address the growing demand of our population and bring us in line with global standards. With the current health care expenditure of less than 3% of India's GDP, it is imperative to increase this investment to at least 5% to 6% of the GDP. By doing so, we can enhance the infrastructure, expand capacity and ensure access to quality health care services for all. Public and private partnership can play a crucial role in bridging the gap in infrastructure, technology and specialized scale. Lastly, fostering innovation and research in the health care sector will drive advancements in treatment and position India as a leader in health care excellence. A pressing challenge within India's health care sector revolves around the shortage of skilled health care nurses [ proshnets ]. The scarcity of trained doctors and nurses poses a significant hurdle, further exacerbated by the high attrition rate among nurses, reaching as high as 35% to 40%. To tackle this challenge, we have adopted a strategic approach, taking a step back. We have enhanced training programs and created robust pipeline of health care [ personnels ] to meet the rising demand. Efforts are being made to attract and retain talent by offering competitive remuneration packages and adequate opportunities for career growth. Additionally, we are actively collaborating with educational institutions and engaging in international exchange programs to help bridge the skill gap and fostering knowledge sharing committed to delivering the health care excellence. In response to the prevailing gaps in the Indian health care sector and as part of our expansion strategy, we have made significant strides in establishing our presence in various cities across South India in recent years. We envision the development of a comprehensive health care ecosystem encompassing hospitals, pharmacies and laboratories within the next 3 years in South India. While our labs and pharmacies are already operational, the construction of many of the greenfield hospitals is expected to be completed within a time line of 2 to 3 years, where -- and the brownfield expansion of some of the existing hospitals shall be done in a period of 1 year. Together, this is likely to add around 1,625 beds to our existing capacity of 4,317 beds. It's important to highlight that our approach has evolved from primarily pursuing greenfield projects to brownfield project expansion of our existing hospitals and now embracing operations and management of hospitals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in the country. The latter enables us to leverage their existing infrastructure and resources while expanding our expertise, brand and create a holistic ecosystem of health care services. Through the strategic initiatives, we are committed to broadening our footprint, enhancing accessibility to quality health care to more and more people. By enhancing both organic growth and strategic collaborations, we are poised to strengthen our position as a leading health care provider and create a positive impact on the lives of individuals across the region. Performance review. In the financial year 2023, we achieved a consolidated revenue of INR 11,933 crores, marking a significant 16% increase compared to the previous year. Our EBITDA stood at INR 1,565 crores, reflecting a 6% growth. Despite the challenges faced due to losses incurred from operations of new hospitals, our overall EBITDA showed a satisfactory improvement. Adjusting for the losses, our EBITDA stood at INR 1,655 crores, marking a noteworthy growth of 11% compared to the previous period. This demonstrates our ability to effectively manage and mitigate challenges, while maintaining a positive trajectory in our financial performance. Comparatively, our India business performed exceptionally well, with revenue growth of 25% to INR 2,983 crores. The EBITDA increased by 28% to INR 453 crores, and the profit after tax post NCI reached INR 147 crores, demonstrating a remarkable growth of 146% compared to the previous year. In the GCC, we witnessed a 14% year-on-year growth -- revenue growth, reaching INR 8,950 crores. Although the EBITDA remains flat at INR 1,112 crores, it reflects our commitment to maintaining a stable performance even in challenging phases. Strategies for sustained growth. As India emerges as the most populous country, there is a notable increase in health care expenditure, rising incomes, expanding insurance coverage and government schemes. The government's focus on health care sector reflects its growing importance in providing high-quality services to the growing and underserved population. In terms of our financial performance in 2023, we witnessed significant revenue and profit growth in India. However, overall EBITDA growth was subdued primarily due to the margins being impacted by expansions in the GCC region, leading to an early EBITDA loss. Throughout the year, we successfully added 5 hospitals, 150 pharmacies and 7 clinics, marking an unprecedented growth for our company. Our commitment to the Indian market remains strong as we continue to support our footprint with the addition of 126 pharmacies, 91 diagnostic centers and patient experience centers. We had done restructuring of the Karala and Karnataka cluster 2 years back, which is reflected in the exponential growth of business both at revenue and EBITDA level. There have been some operational challenges in Andhra and Telangana in the last couple of years, which are being addressed so that this geography also keeps pace with the others in coming years. These strategic investments reflect our dedication to meeting the evolving health care needs of the Indian population. By establishing a comprehensive ecosystem encompassing hospitals, labs and pharmacies, we aim to provide a seamless continuum of care to our patients in South India, where we are already present [ ikidy ]. We are also rolling out myAster Super App soon in India, which will help to connect the various services we offer from primary to quaternary care seamlessly, and shall be the face of the organization for the patients. Our integrated approach ensures that individuals not only have access to high-quality medical facilities in our hospitals, but also benefit from convenience and efficiency of diagnostic service and pharmacy support outside of that. This holistic approach strengthens our position as a leading health care provider and reinforces our mission to deliver exceptional and patient-centered care across the nation. During the year, we have started expanding our reach to suburban area of India by adopting an O&M asset-light model, adding to total 390 beds. This approach allowed us to provide quality health care service while managing cost effectively. Notably, Aster Narayanadri hospital, we achieved the achievement within its first quarter of operation, validating our belief in the model. We also started Aster Madegowda Hospital in Mandya, Karnataka in April 2023, further strengthening our presence in the state. Looking ahead, we are actively evaluating merger and acquisition opportunities that align with our strategic goals. We remain open to both acquisitions that complement our existing operations and transformative opportunities that can shape our future growth. Our strategies in Indian market align with country's health care sector potential and our dedication to delivering quality health care services to a larger population. Through investments, expansion and commitment to excellence, we aim to meet evolving health care needs, set new benchmarks and ensure access for all. We are also looking for opportunities for acquiring health care assets to consolidate growth through the inorganic tracks. In the GCC region, our core business across hospitals, pharmacies and clinics experienced growth with positive revenue impact. Although EBITDA for the region was affected by losses from new hospitals built, we have made significant progress in expanding our bed capacity with the addition of Aster Sharjah Hospital, Aster Sonapur Hospital and Aster Royal Hospital in Muscat. Even though this has resulted in initial loss of EBITDA, going forward we anticipate improved revenue and EBITDA performances as we optimize the increased bed capacities. I'm happy to inform you that Aster Sanad Hospital in Riyadh has turned profitable with EBITDA positive during the fiscal year. We are actively exploring further opportunities for expansion in Saudi Arabia, including the rollout of pharmacies, as we see Saudi as our next major market for expansion of the GCC business. Now welcoming new members to the leadership team. In our pursuit of continued growth and excellence, I am delighted to announce key leadership appointments within our organization. Dr. Nitish Shetty, a seasoned health care management professional, has been appointed as the CEO of Aster DM Healthcare India. With his remarkable contributions in driving extraordinary growth in our Karnataka operations, we have full confidence that under Dr. Nitish's leadership our India business will flourish, achieving new milestones and setting industry benchmarks. We have also appointed Farhan Yasin as a Vice President for India, who is responsible for exponential growth in Kerala in last 3 years. He's also in charge of Aster Retail, consisting of Aster Labs, Aster-branded pharmacies and Aster Homecare. Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that Sunil Kumar M R is appointed as a joint Chief Financial Officer, who will be taking care of India along with Amitabh Johri, who is already looking after the GCC Finance, both of whom have demonstrated their exceptional capabilities during their tenure with us. Their expertise and proven track record will play a vital role in strengthening our financial governance and driving sustainable growth across these key markets. Additionally, we have appointed Hitesh Dhadha, a seasoned professional with over 18 years of expertise in finance, M&A and strategies, as our Chief of Investor Relations and M&A. With his strategic acumen and financial expertise, Hitesh will be instrumental in fostering strong investor relationships and identifying strategic opportunities to further enhance our business. Beyond business, I'm extremely proud to share with you that Aster DM Healthcare has achieved a remarkable milestone in our commitment to social responsibility. Aster Volunteers, with varied activities, has become the face of Aster now in many places, serving large number of needy population. I don't want to go to further details. You have seen this in the videos which have been played just now, how we -- on the World Diabetes day, we were able to screen nearly 12,714 individuals and going into the Guinness World Records. In addition, we successfully completed the first edition of the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award last year, which again was shown there, in which Nurse Anna Qabale Duba won the award worth USD 250,000, which is equivalent to about INR 2 crores, which she utilized, which is not mentioned in that video, to uplift the rural community in her remote village in Africa by building a school. This year's Aster Guardians Nursing Award, as you have seen, has been in London, which again has garnered a lot of support. And now the world -- we are putting nurses on the spotlight and their hard work and commitment. And we are inspiring the nursing profession, which is essential to address the growing global shortage. We also remain dedicated to advancing our ESG commitments, ensuring the resilience and sustainability of business while making a positive impact on the world around us. With every milestone achieved, we reaffirm our pledge to serve as a responsible health care provider and a catalyst for positive change. Now another thing which I would like to very briefly mention is about the status of restructuring of the company. The company has been periodically updating the stakeholders on the ongoing restructuring costs of its GCC business to help unlock value for the shareholders. We are happy to report that significant process (sic) [ progress ] on the restructuring of GCC business has been made, and the company continues to be engaged in discussions with shortlisted bidder focused on the GCC regions. On the base of the requests received during the bid process from the bidders for continued promoter participation in the GCC business, the company's promoters have expressed their interest in continuing to participate in the GCC business and their intention to hold a stake in the buyer entity along with the shortlisted bidder. Given that the promoters have decades of experience and goodwill in the GCC region, their involvement is core to the intrinsic value of the GCC business. Being a complex transaction with the sale and [ suppression ] of material overseas subsidiary, the process is taking longer than expected. The transaction remains subject to finalization and execution of definitive documents and appropriate corporate approvals, including approval from the Board and the shareholders of the company. We continue to believe that separating the 2 businesses will maximize value for the shareholders. Requisite disclosures shall be made in compliance with SEBI's regulations at the appropriate stage. Now I finally come to the conclusion. I'm delighted to share that our business is thriving on both fronts. The Indian market, in particular, is experiencing a remarkable growth. And under the leadership of Dr. Nitish Shetty, we are poised to achieve outstanding results and stand shoulder to shoulder with our industry peers. Similarly, in GCC region, we anticipate significant improvement in performance with the entry of Aster Pharmacy in Saudi Arabia and our ongoing digital transformation initiatives. These are led by Alisha and her very, very committed and passionate team. The myAster omnichannel digital app, which was introduced in UAE in January, was the first of its kind to be introduced in the region and has fast emerged as the country's go-to health care app, which will soon be rolled out in India, too. I'm confident that our dedicated team, robust strategies and your steadfast support, Aster DM Healthcare will continue to thrive and reach new heights of excellence. Let us embark on this journey together as we strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of people and contribute to the betterment of health care on a global stage. Thank you for your trust, and I look forward to your continued involvement and collaboration as we shape the future of Aster DM Healthcare and the future of health care in India. Thank you. Now I request the Deputy Managing Director, Alisha Moopen, to address the shareholders.

Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. My dear shareholders, as Chairman mentioned, the fiscal year '22 -- '23 really has been a growth of the year of investments for us here at Aster. This has been the first year that we have actually opened up 5 new hospitals in a single year, which really is a feat that showcases our strong efforts towards catering to a larger patient base and meeting their diverse needs. This was also necessitated because a number of our assets and hospitals under construction were put on hold during COVID. So we had dedicated to completing them during this period. This was also a year where we were able to reach key milestones in our digital initiatives, as Chairman mentioned, the launch of our app MyAster on iOS, Android as well as our web platforms, was met with great enthusiasm as evidenced by the targeted downloads that we achieved. We have managed to have more -- close to 1 million downloads over the last 1 year. It is the region's first integrated health care platform to be launched in the UAE, and it has successfully combined all of our services across businesses under 1 app. It has seen a 10x growth and has a current active user base of close to 150,000 per month, and an installation of close to 920,000. Moreover, we experienced a substantial ramp-up in Aster Pharmacy orders, indicating a growing acceptance and reliance on our digital platforms. All this has enabled us to continue to position our organization for growth and success in the future. In India, as Chairman mentioned, we have reported excellent growth -- just going back to what I wanted to cover, during FY '23, we noticed that the effective management of the COVID has allowed UAE to gain the status of being 1 of the preferred locations globally. This impact is visible, seeing the influx of expat population in the UAE, and there's been migration of people from Ukraine as well as from Russia. We've seen this reinstate some of the population loss, which has been seen during the COVID time. This is a big statement of that population in UAE, which is visible in the revenue numbers for us of FY 2023. While we have witnessed significant revenue and profit growth in India, the GCC region experienced muted EBITDA growth in percentage due to our major expansions as well as investments in digital, resulting in early EBITDA loss and some lower margins. During the pandemic, owing to restrictions, we were compelled to temporarily pause some of our investment projects. In the year gone by, while we invested approximately INR 100 crores in additional businesses, some of these investments were also the ones that were paused earlier. I'm pleased to share that we have successfully substituted the revenue generated from COVID and PCR testing, which accounted for 8% of our total revenue in the previous financial year, with robust growth in core health care revenue, particularly in the GCC region. This growth is evident in our hospital and the pharmacy segments. In the GCC business, we achieved a substantial growth of 14% year-on-year revenue growth, amounting to INR 8,500 -- 950 crores. However, it is important to note that our EBITDA remained flat year-on-year at INR 1,112 crores compared to INR 1,130 crores in the previous financial year. In line with our mission to enhance patient centered care during the fiscal year, we entered into 3 partnerships to further strengthen our capabilities as well as expand our reach. First, we entered into a partnership with Sukoon, which is a leading insurance provider in UAE, to launch 2 new health insurance plans with Aster products. Secondly, we signed a partnership with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories to look at producing quality medications and making it more accessible in UAE and GCC through Aster Pharmacy. I'm also excited to inform, as we saw in the video, that 6 of our hospitals has been recognized and noted in the prestigious U.S. Newsweek Global List. We're in the top 5 -- top 20 as well as in the global 150 list with our Aster and Medcare hospitals. This really is a very strong endorsement of our continued efforts towards delivering exceptional patient outcomes. If you talk about our future capacity creation plans, we have 2 important projects currently in our pipeline. We have planned the hospital network expansion through a high-end, multi-speciality facility with a capacity of 126 beds, which is expected to be completed in Q4 of '23 - '24. This would be named as Aster Royal Multispeciality, which would become a destination for [ Enwetal ] Medcare Royal speciality hospital, which would be a destination for [ MBT ] in UAE. Additionally, we'll open up a new block of 60 beds as an extension to our Sanad facility in Saudi Arabia in the upcoming quarter of '23 - '24. We've also started work on our pharmacies, as the Chairman mentioned, in Saudi Arabia, and we expect our first set of pharmacies to go live by the end of Q2 FY '24. Also, the company has diligently addressed intrinsic issues within its GCC business, particularly concerning onerous contracts with insurance companies. By renegotiating these contracts, we have achieved improved pricing and increased margin, resulting in a more favorable financial outlook. Furthermore, the Saudi government's commitment to diversify its economy away from oil and implement Saudization policies has had a positive impact on our business. This has led to an increased focus on hiring, empowering the local Saudi talent, resulting in enhanced productivity and contribution from our Saudi employees. In line with our efforts to strengthen the organization, we have taken a comprehensive restructuring of our teams. This strategic move has enabled us to assemble a strong and effective leadership, ensured streamlined operations and driving the companies towards sustainable growth. Our commitment to the sustainability and CSR remains resolute. During the fiscal, we continued to make significant progress across all aspects of environmental, social and governance. As part of our commitment to environmental responsibility, we have adopted a 4-pronged approach towards our energy efficiency. It includes a, an energy-efficient infrastructure, energy-efficient equipment, renewable energy integration as well as adhering to green building regulations. Through these 4 pillars of energy efficiency, we have been making substantial progress in reducing our environmental impact. Notably, we have reduced close to 1,993 megawatt energy across Aster Hospital GCC. With our focused water conservation efforts, we have also saved close to 3 lakh kiloliter of water during the year under review. As part of our social endeavors, we are happy to say we've been able to provide close to 800,000 Aster Volunteer mobile medical services to the underprivileged. This initiative has reflected our commitment to reaching out to the marginalized communities and ensuring that they receive the health care that they deserve. Additionally, during the fiscal, we have completed and handed over more than 250 homes in Karala. We strongly believe in investing in our health care professionals and empowering them to deliver the highest quality of care to our patients. Towards this, we have launched 11 career development programs during the fiscal, and we're delighted to have more than 1,500 nurses who have completed these career development process. To conclude, we take immense pride in the strategic objectives achieved during this fiscal. However, we understand that the true success cannot be measured solely by the achievements or obstacles of a single year. Instead, the enduring quality of our relationships stands as the most genuine indicator of our triumph, rooted in shared values, consistent performance and reciprocal benefits. Our unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional health care service to our patients remains steadfast. We'll continue to invest in our infrastructure, technology and talent to further elevate the quality of care that we offer. By doing so, we aim to continually enhance our ability to serve and improve the wellbeing of our patients. Moreover, we actively seek opportunities to expand our services, forge strategic partnerships and explore new avenues for growth. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to our esteemed shareholders for their unwavering support and trust. It is your steadfast belief in our vision that drives us forward. As we move ahead, we remain resolute in our commitment to maximizing the shareholder value and delivering sustainable growth in the years to come. With the support of our shareholders, we are confident in our ability to achieve our shared goals and create a long-term value for all the stakeholders involved. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Alisha. Since this AGM is being held through video conferencing, I request Mr. Hemish Purushottam, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, to take you through certain instructions for participating in the meeting. Hemish?

Thank you, Chairman. Good afternoon, everyone. Members may note that the meeting is being held through video conference in accordance with the Companies Act 2013 and circulars issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and SEBI. The facility of participation in the AGM through video conference [ in the city ] is being made available to all the members, and the procedure has been detailed in the AGM notice. Members are requested to refer to the instructions in the notice of the AGM for their uninterrupted and seamless participation. In case any members are facing any difficulty, they may reach out on the helpline numbers. The company has received requests from a few members who have registered themselves to speak at the meeting. Accordingly, the floor will be open for these members to ask their questions. The moderator will facilitate this session once the Chairman opens the floor for questions and answers. Members can also post their views or questions on a chat box tab under videoconferencing screen any time up to 1 p.m. The register of members, the register of directors and key managerial person, the register of contracts or arrangements in which directors are interested, certificate from the secretarial auditors in terms of Regulation 13 of the SEBI share-based employee benefits regulation 2014, the statutory auditor's report, and the secretarial auditor's report has been made available electronically for inspection by the members during the AGM. Members seeking to inspect such documents can send their requests to the e-mail ID [email protected]. As the meeting is being held via video conference, the facility for appointment of proxy by the members is not available, and hence, proxy register is not available for inspection. The company has provided the facility to cast votes electronically on all resolutions set forth in the notice. Members who have not yet cast their votes, and who are participating during this meeting, will have the opportunity to cast their vote through the e-voting system provided by NSDL during the meeting. Members can click on the voting tab on the video conferencing screen to avail this facility. Those shareholders who have cast their vote through remote e-voting prior to the AGM can also attend the AGM but shall not be entitled to cast their votes again. Thank you. I now request Chairman to conduct the proceedings of the meeting.

Thank you, Hemish. The notice dated 25th May, 2023 convening the meeting, the statement of profit and loss for the year ended 31st March 2023, and the balance sheet dated 31st March 2023, together with the report of the Board of Directors and the auditors, have been circulated to you. With your permission, I would like to take the notice as read. I further confirm that there are no qualifications, observations or comments mentioned in the auditor's report on financial statements or secretarial matters, which have any adverse effect on the functioning of the company. Hence, it does not call for reading out of the auditors' report. The shareholders may also note that considering the e-voting on all the items of the agenda has been made available to shareholders, there shall be no voting by show of hands. We shall now proceed to take up the agenda matters in their order as set out in the notice of the [ vote ] of the meeting. After this, we will open the floor for questions by the shareholders who have preregistered. I will now take up all items given in the notice of the 15th Annual General Body Meeting -- General Meeting. Item #1 of the notice. The first item noticed is to receive, consider and adopt the audited standalone financial statements of the company, including the audited consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended 31st March 2023, together with the report of the Board of Directors and auditors thereon. This item forms part of the ordinary business, and it is proposed to be passed as an ordinary resolution. Item #2. The second item of the notice is to appoint a Director in the place of Mr. Daniel Robert Mintz, who retires by rotation, and being eligible, offers himself for reappointment. This item forms a part of the ordinary business, and it is proposed to be passed as an ordinary resolution. Item #3. The third item of the notice is to secure ratification for the remuneration payable to Messrs. Jitender, Navneet and Company, auditors for the financial year 2023 -- 24, as proposed in the notice. This item forms part of the special business, and it is proposed to be passed as an ordinary resolution. Item #4. The fourth item of the notice is to seek your approval for contribution to bona fide charitable funds and trust. This item forms part of the special business, and it is proposed to be passed as an ordinary resolution. Now we will take questions from the shareholders. To avoid repetition, the answers to all questions shall be provided towards the end. Members may also note that company reserves the right to limit the number of members asking questions, depending upon the availability of time. Over to Hemish.

Thank you, Chairman. Dear shareholders, before we begin the questions-and-answer session, we have a few points to be noted for your convenience. The name of the shareholders who have registered to speak at the AGM shall be announced in turns by the moderator. You are requested to state your name, folio number or DP ID and client ID, and the place from where you are joining the meeting, and then proceed to speak. Each shareholder will be given 3 minutes for their questions. To avoid repetition, the Board of Directors shall respond to all the questions at the end. In case there is a connectivity problem with any shareholder, then the next shareholder will be asked to join. Once the connectivity improves, the shareholder will be called again. I now request the moderator to please connect the shareholder speakers.

[Operator Instructions] Our first speaker member, [ Ms. Kanika Jain ].

Am I audible?

Yes.

I'm [ Kanika Jain ], and I'm joining the meeting from Delhi. Good morning, respective Chairman sir, our Board of Directors and the [ fair of ] shareholders attending the meeting globally. First of all, I would like to congratulate the management and the staff for their hard work to provide good results during the year '22 -23. And accordingly, my equity market share value has increased handsomely in the last year, and is still going up. I have full faith in the management being I'm holding the shares since allotment. Most of my queries have already been covered in the excellent speech by our chairman sir about the growth scheme of our future. Now my query is that the company had strong performance in the last year in terms of revenue. So shall we expect a good interim dividend during this current year '23 -- 24? And also in this current scenario after the year of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for medical requirements have increased drastically. So is our Board thinking about the expansion of medical facilities in northern region of our country? And in the end, I would like to thank the company secretary, sir, and his whole secretarial team for providing a copy of annual report to me on a single request as well as for allowing me to interact with the management. I also hope that the company will continue to hold the AGM through VC in future also, so that shareholders like me can join from faraway places. Thank you, sir, and all the best.

Thank you.

Our next speaker member is [ Abhijit Panda ].

My name is [ Abhijit ]. I'm joining from the City of Temples, Orissa. My client ID and DPID is [ 12781 80 100, 321 and 947 ]. Now thank you for giving me the opportunity and registering me as a speaker and a shareholder. Before I ask my question, I would like to congratulate the company and its management for its excellent performance last year. Further, your annual report is very attractive, I must say, and in detail. And for a first-time reader like me, it's very easy to understand about the company business and the operations as well. I won't take much time. I just have 2 questions and probably a lot of shareholders would be having the same question. My first question is, since the company is making profits, when will the company be able to declare the dividends? That's my first question. And my second question is, can you please give me some updates on the restructuring and when it is expected to complete? I think these are the only 2 questions I have. And thank you and best wishes to everyone here. Thank you.

We now invite Mr. [ Babu George MV ]. There seems to be no response from Mr. Babu George's connection. We will therefore move to our next speaker member. That is [ Swarna Lata ], who is connected over audio. There seems to be no response from this connection. We will move to our speaker #5, that's from [ Prabhakar SH ].

My name is [ Prabata Shimulya Hamar ], and I'm from Bengaluru Karnataka. My client ID and DPID is 12081600. 41008941. I thank the company and secretarial team for sending me annual report on request and making me join the AGM. My first question is, what is the company's expansion plan for India? And as per the annual report, the company has been investing on digital initiatives and launched MyAster app in GCC. Whether this app will be launching in India? Just wanted to know what is the turnaround time, and what is the plan of action? Thank you [ eru ].

We will check with Mr. [ Babu George ].

Can you hear me?

We can hear you, sir.

My congratulations to the Chairman and [ Mani ] Director [ bilibad ] Dr. Azad Moopen for his splendid performance as well as my congratulations to our new Deputy [ Managing ] Director, [ Sharim Abim Nasat ], for her active participation in the growth of the company. The last year, there was profit, but dividends are not declared. In India, as you all know, the price hike and other difficulties are thereby there increasing. [Technical Difficulty] I request all our [ Managing ] Director to declare an interim dividend at the time of the [ Mabili ] festival. The requesting for assistance to patients, especially shareholders, [ ladies and dependents ], they may be given special discounts for the treatment in our hospitals. And also I request, [ the risa ganol dambre ] among the public that the rooms are not sufficient in [ which anowlim ] hospital. Hence, please consider starting more than 100 rooms in the near future so that this problem can be solved. I hope the management will give a decision shortly. The CSR activities of the [ banh ] company is also very good. Lot of help is given to the poor and needy people of our state as well as in the country. The new brand of the hospitals started in different parts of the country is also giving good help to the people. In this [ curasent ], I request honorable Managing Director. In the last general body, I have pointed out a number of [ fagisents ] as well as in the field of treatment also. A lot of youth are day by day diminishing from the country because of lot of problems while walking, they fell down and immediately breathed their last. In the last 1 year itself more than [ 50 ] youth are disappeared from this state, hence please take steps for treatment for all these things. Medical checkup may be enhanced in such a way that calcium deposits [ has reared ] this problem. Hence this must be included in the medical checkup system of the hospital in India and abroad. And I hope our beloved Chairman and Managing Director will look into it and [ know ] the needful. I belong to [ inaulam ] as southern middle of the Kerala. In our place, in 2018 flood affected...

Sorry to interrupt, Mr. [ Babu George ]. Request you to please summarize your question a little quicker so that we can allow other participants to speak.

Yes, only 1 minute. I request our beloved [ managing ] director to look into my e-mail sent to him and give help to needy people of my place. They are homeless and struggling for existence. I wish all good wishes the Chairman and Managing Director and the Director [ adesh ]. Thank you. With the best wishes, Babu George from [ aragalau ].

Thank you.

We now invite Ms. [ Varneleta ].

Hello? Am I audible?

Yes, yes.

Am I audible?

Yes, sir, we can hear you. Please go ahead.

I [ mizian ] is speaking on behalf of my mother, I'm also the shareholder of the company while my DPID [ 30011A10131690 ]. Sir, I have a couple of queries. First of all, debt. As no dividend is proposed in this financial year, we are [ in concern ]. So in this regard, what steps have you taken by the management to safeguard the interest of the small shareholders like me? Second point is that, as we all know, health care sector has become 1 of the largest sector of the Indian economy in terms of both revenue and employment. So in this regard [ that ] whether the management has any plan of raising the equity capital by the issue of right issue in near future for the expansion beyond the Tier 1 cities to the Tier 3 cities. We are ready to invest more money in our esteemed company and [ that ] also made the gap at just between the number of beds available and the number of beds required currently in India, which offer as an effective investment opportunity in India. Thank you very much to [ Sheri ] Hemish Sir, company secretary for the organizing [ of wonderful ] meeting for the shareholders. And thank you very much to the management and hope for an interim dividend during this financial year. I already have passed my e-vote, [ our ] I hereby support all the resolutions proposed by the management. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. That was the last speaker shareholder. I now hand over the proceedings to Dr. Azad Moopen. Over to you, sir.

Thank you, shareholders, for your questions. While we provide the answers to your questions shortly, I request the moderator to play a video to share the work done by our CSR team, Aster Volunteers and Aster. So we will just [ poke ] through the questions and then come out with the answer by the time this video [ ends ]. Thank you. [Presentation]

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I now hand over to Mr. Hemish Purushottam. Over to you.

Thank you. Dear shareholders, we'll try to respond to all the questions raised in the meeting. However, the shareholders may also write to the company on the designated email addresses given in the website of the company for any further questions and queries you may have. Now the management team will respond to the queries raised by the shareholders. The first question was with regard to whether interim dividend can be declared or any dividend can be expected by the shareholders. So I would request the Chairman to kindly address this question.

Yes. Thank you, Hemish. So this was not the first question. This was [ there ] in all the questions actually. So this was uniform, all -- everybody, almost everybody asked about this. So I must tell you that we are really sorry that we couldn't so far declare dividend. It has been 5 years since we became a listed company. And the reason is that there was the requirement for the wiping off of the accumulated losses as per the statutory regulations. So that's the requirement for accumulated losses to be wiped off. Even though we had cash flow, it was not possible. Now there was in the beginning of 2023 when we started, there was INR 215 crores as accumulated losses. But in 2023, there was INR 173 crores came in as profit. So a large part of this was wiped out. The balance was just INR 41 crores. But I'm happy that in the quarter 1 of this financial year, even that has been wiped out. So we are now in a stage to declare dividend. And please be assured that this year, we shall -- we'll be happy to declare a dividend as has been requested by all the shareholders. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. Moving on to the next question, it's on whether the Board is thinking about expanding to the North Indian region. Also, what are the expansion plans in India going forward. I request Dr. Nitish, CEO of Aster India, to kindly answer the query.

Thank you very much,. First of all, I would like to thank Anita for asking this question. She is from North India, and it's very happy to hear that somebody from North India is expecting us to come to the northern part of India. India provides a tremendous opportunity for growth. We are seeing with our performance the last 1 or 2 years, what we have been doing in South Asia. But Aster being a patient-centric hospital, we take our responsibility very seriously. When we plan expansion, we ensure that we do justice to the patient and [ even that ] we are serving them. We are now represented in South India in 6 states now. Our priority would be to continue serving the majority where we are and then -- so then expanding that neighboring geography. That is [ the mi bazla ] area we are looking at. [ Madastaf ], further expansion we are looking at. But if the opportunity provides -- comes our way, we are open to explore opportunities even in Northeast, Northern part of India, which is underserved. And a model like ours will perfectly help in [ agreeing ] the benefit what patients are deriving in southern part of India because of Aster's [ purjers ]. In a nutshell, what I can say is we are open to all the ideas, but our priority is to do our job right and [ serve the patient ], but continue improving our service at whatever area we serve, but we are still open for further expansion. Thank you.

Thank you, Dr. Nitesh. Moving on to the next item, next question. It is on to give an update on the status of restructuring, and when it is expected to be completed? I request Mr. Amitabh Johri to kindly address the query.

Thank you, Hemish. So just as an update on the restructuring [ extiad ] the company has been regularly informing stakeholders about the ongoing restructuring process of the GCC business, aiming to enhance the value for shareholders. We are pleased to announce substantial advancement in the restructuring of the GCC business. The company is actively engaged in discussions with a selected bidder focusing on the GCC business. In response to the request from the bidders during the bidding process for the continued involvement of the promoters in the GCC business, the company's promoters have indicated their desire to remain engaged in the GCC business. They also intend to retain a stake in the purchasing entity alongside the chosen bidder. The promoters' participation is crucial to the intrinsic value of the GCC business due to their extensive experience and positive reputation in the GCC region. As the transaction involves a sale and separation of a significant overseas subsidiary, the process is taking more time than initially anticipated. The finalization and execution of the definitive documents, as well as necessary corporate approvals, including those from Board and shareholders, are still pending. We maintain our belief that the separation of the 2 businesses will optimize value for shareholders. We've also made all required disclosures in accordance with the SEBI regulations at [ dapabridge ].

Thank you, Amitabh. Moving on to the next question. It is on whether assistance and discount to be given for health care services for shareholders and their relatives. I request the Chairman to address this query.

Yes, Mr. Babu George, you have been constantly reminding us of the requirement for this. So the -- what we suggest is that whenever there is a requirement for any help, please be in touch with the hospital, I mean authorities. There is a limitation for it because there are 70,000-odd shareholders. And it may not be possible to provide it to everybody. But when there is special situations, I think we can definitely do that. So that is something which we will be, I mean, looking at on a case-to-case basis. Regarding the rooms, which you have requested the requirement for more rooms in Aster mid-city, where you have said that there's the lack of rooms, definitely, this is being addressed. And I'm happy to tell you that the Board or the management has started constructing one more block with 100 beds, which will, to some extent, alleviate the requirements for rooms. So that is something which I wanted to tell you. Thank you. And I also wanted to -- yes. So even though, I mean, Hemish, you haven't mentioned about it, in his question, while I was looking at my notes, there was also this question about this youth dying and the calcium deposits in the blood vessels. These 2 were 2 of the important points in his [ sentence ] when he was speaking. So this is unfortunately the situation that has come up after the COVID especially. A lot of deaths happening, unexplained that in the [ inner ] population. And this is under investigation. And many of the reports point to the fact that there is an increased tendency of coagulation of blood and that is causing the blood to coagulate either in the heart or in the brain, and this is causing -- or in the lung and causing this sudden death. So this is something beyond us to find out a way how to prevent that. Regarding the calcium deposit which you mentioned, that again, is extremely important. This is being recognized as 1 of the risk factors which can be easily recognized even before symptoms happen in people who undergo CT, cardiac CT or MRI. So people who have suspicion, without doing angiogram, we could now look at CT or -- I mean, MRI and calcium [ spost ] can be done so that people going into a serious problem like a myocardial infarction, they can be identified. We have facilities for that in most of our hospitals, and we encourage people to do that. Thank you, Hemish.

Thank you, sir. Moving on to the next question, which was by Mr. Babu George. It was regarding CSR activities for poor people in [ Kerala ] District. So for this question, I request Mr. T.J. Wilson to address the query.

Thanks, Hemish. Thanks, Mr. Babu George. We're very happy to hear that you have noticed of what we have been doing in the CSR front and also noticed what we have been doing. Really appreciate that one. So definitely, I understand [ your avigin ] is having some issues and don't like -- so while we can't say specifically, but generally, but if you have any specific requests [ that you think ] we will be able to manage, we undertake that. So maybe you can get in touch with our CSR [ Daskin Ars or Vasti Imaska vea fovmina asmin atidi ]. So maybe other thing what we can do is like we'll ask our team to contact you and see whether we can have some sort of medical camp in your place. So activities these 2 things we can definitely consider. While we have limitations we'll try to help you and support the people from your region. Thank you.

Thanks, sir. Moving on to the next question. It was regarding whether the company has plans to expand to Tier 2, Tier 3 cities? And is there a need for funding through raising of equity capital by rights issue? So I request Mr. Sunil, joint CFO, to kindly answer the question.

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Hemish. Thank you, [ Swarna Lata ], for asking the very specific question on the right issue. So let me give some background. If you look at the last year performance of Astra India, we have done a INR 3,000 crore revenue to INR 453 crores EBITDA with a 29% revenue growth and 27% of EBITDA growth. And even in the quarter 1, we have [ profit in ] a 29% revenue growth and 47% growth in EBITDA. So basically, this shows that how strong the bottom line performance is, and we expect it to continue that. And also with good EBITDA margins being there, there is a good [ flow for our core ] system. Now if you link that to my gross debt, we are at around INR 600 crores as on 31st March 2023, and a net debt of around INR [ 510 ] crores. And if we linked to the debt-to-EBITDA ratio, net debt-to-EBITDA ratio on a [ preenglass ] level, we are at a ratio of 1.3 to 1.4. And for any company which has got a growth prospects, it's a very healthy ratio to be in. And even from the bank point of view, anywhere between -- below 3 is a very good ratio. And as you already know that we have growth plans of almost 1,600 beds in the next 3 years, we are expecting a capital investment of around INR 300 crores plus every year. And keeping that in mind, on the future growth prospects, we don't expect to do really try to do a right issue for the [ given ] requirement of growth. We can see that usually, we take the debt as [ common debt and in 300 crores ] to drive the growth. At least in the near term, 2 to 3 years, we don't expect. But if the plan changes and we expect to grow more inorganically and if there is a situation, we will really look into that particular approach. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Sunil. So the final question is on the company's digital initiatives and launch of myAster app in DCC and also whether this myAster app is going to launch in India. For this question, I request Ms. Alisha to kindly answer this.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. [ Prabata ] for the question. So as I mentioned, we're quite happy with the way it's launched in UAE, meeting our expectations. We also, of course, have the [ personal advantage ] here, as mentioned. We are now preparing for launching the same in India. We do want it to be the main customer-facing interaction for our patients with -- at the Aster ecosystem. We're hoping that by January 2024, we'll -- for Q4 FY '23 -- 24, we'll be planning to launch it. Of course, a large part of the features that have been developed so far has been around the e-pharmacy, home care, instant virtual consults. When it comes to India, we want to focus more around our hospitals and the experience for the patients on [ IP ]. So those feature sets are being developed, and we hope that we will be able to launch it by Q4. We really believe that this strategy will help solidify our kind of relationship with our patients and enhance experience for our patients in India. So looking forward to building that out. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Alisha. So that's it in terms of the questions that were raised. In case we have not answered any query, you can write to us. And now over to Chairman.

Thank you. Thank you, Hemish. I think we have answered all questions. If there are any further queries, please e-mail to us, and we will consider them separately -- we will answer them separately. Members may know that voting for NSDL will be made available for the next 30 minutes. Members who have not cast their votes can cast their vote through the e-voting system provided by NSDL. Members can click on the Voting tab on the video conference screen to avail this facility. Mr. M Damodaran, Practicing Company Secretary, has been appointed as the scrutinizer for supervising the e-voting process. The scrutinizer's report on the voting results will be available on the website of the company, and the same shall be disseminated to the stock exchange at the earliest. The resolutions are set forth and the notices shall be deemed to be passed today, subject to the receipt of the requested number of votes. On behalf of the Board and the management, I thank the shareholders for their active participation in the meeting. I also thank all board members, employees, suppliers and bankers for committed and efficient services rendered by them towards the successful operations of the company. I now declare the meeting has concluded.